How to master the next 7 weeks of Q1 with the 7 strategic pillars of business

February has a tendency to fall a little flat after the hype of January.

Gone is that ‘new year, new me’ mentality and list of new years resolutions that lasted 2 weeks max. 

In their place is a lot of frustration and a deflated feeling.

If that feels very relatable, especially in relation to your business, keep reading. 

Here’s the thing. I see a lot of people make the same mistake around January when it comes to planning for the new year and the first quarter of business. I’ve made the same mistake in the past too!

This mistake is only setting aspirational goals rather than a balance of achievable and aspirational goals. 

The issue with only setting aspirational goals is that you very quickly become discouraged when you don’t meet them in the first month of the year. And unfortunately, goals don’t achieve themselves. You have to put in the work.

The best way to reach these aspirational goals? Setting achievable ones to help you get there.

Enter strategic planning. 

The whole point of strategic planning is to give you an actionable way to not only meet your goals but also to give you space so you keep the needle moving even when you have those days when you’re tired or sick (or both). 

One of my simplest tricks to help you keep continuously working towards your goals while also giving you space to rest when you need to is using what I call the big 3.

These are 3 key things you’re going to get done each week and ideally, they’ll line up with the 7 strategic pillars of business. 

If you’ve never heard of the 7 strategic pillars of business before, head over to this article to read all about them and their role in your business. 

Now, if February has left you feeling demoralized and unmotivated, there are roughly 7 weeks until the end of the quarter, so I’m going to help you strategically plan each week using the 7 pillars and the big 3 method. 

I’m going to share each pillar and 3 tasks you could do each week that relates to each pillar. Then you simply focus on one pillar every week until the end of Q1 and I promise, you’ll see results. 

Let’s get into it!

Business Operations 

This first week will be all about the tools and processes you have in place (or don’t) to help your business run smoothly and efficiently.

The three tasks I recommend focusing on are:

1. Document something you do regularly (I call these secret standard operating procedures that you do all the time but have never written down) 
2. Review your tech tools for any problems such as failed automation, undone tasks or any gaps.
3. Website checks to make sure your website is functioning properly hasn’t crashed and all links are working. 

Team

The second week will focus on your team. Both the talent within your team and your team culture. 

Here are the big 3 I’d suggest for this week:

1. Check in with your team members to see how they’re doing and if they need any additional support
2. Do something that contributes to the culture of your team such as planning a team meeting, taking a leadership class, or conducting an anonymous team poll.
3. Evaluate each team member’s performance to look for areas of improvement or special skills. 

Marketing and Sales

This pillar revolves around driving traffic to your business and turning that audience into customers. 

I’d recommend focusing on these 3 things this week:

1. Schedule an email to your list sharing helpful tips to help them or a business update
2. Create content for social media to get your audience engaging 
3. Pitch yourself to be a guest speaker at a conference or event or to be a guest on a podcast 

Offer and Product Suite 

For the 4th pillar and 4th week, we’re focusing on the products and services you’re selling.

Try completing these 3 things during this week:

1. Checking in on the profit margin for all your offers
2. Plan any new product launches or offer launches
3. Eliminate any offers that aren’t profitable or that don’t bring you joy

Financials

You guessed it, this pillar is all about looking at your finances. 

The big 3 tasks I’d recommend doing are:

1. Review all of your regular expenses. Cancel any subscriptions you don’t use and check all expenses are necessary
2. Follow up on any outstanding invoices 
3. Work backward and plan how to hit your revenue goals for the following quarter

Client Experience

It’s time to shift your focus onto your clients this week with these 3 tasks:

1. Check in with your current clients on their progress
2. Reach out to previous clients to see how they’re doing after working with you and offer support 
3. Do a walk-through of your customer journey to find gaps or weaknesses

Continuing Education 

The 7th and final pillar and focus for the last week of the quarter is on you.

Here are the big 3 things I recommend doing this week:

1. Doing something that inspires you 
2. Leaning into something that makes you uncomfortable
3. Read a book/listen to a podcast/ take a class on your core skill (whatever that is)

Each of these pillars can be moved around so you can focus on them in whatever order you like and you can switch out my examples of the big 3 tasks to ones that work with your business and reflect your goals.

But by checking off just 3 things every week, you’ll be moving your business forward in a strategic way that is going to help you meet your goals and feel better about Q1.

Will you be trying this over the next quarter?